page_title: Women in India
section_title: Timeline of women's achievements in India
hierarchical_section_title: Women in India / Timeline of women's achievements in India
caption_attribution_description: English: Sarla Thakral, the Indian woman to fly
context_page_description: The status of women in India has been subject to many changes over the span of recorded Indian history. Their position in society deteriorated early in India's ancient period, especially in the Indo-Aryan speaking regions, and their subordination continued to be reified well into India's early modern period. Practises such as female infanticide, dowry, child marriage and the taboo on widow remarriage, have had a long duration in India, and have proved difficult to root out, especially in caste Hindu society in northern India.
  During the British East India Company rule, and the British Raj, measures aiming at amelioration were enacted, including Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829, Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856, Female Infanticide Prevention Act, 1870, and Age of Consent Act, 1891. Women's rights under the Constitution of India mainly include equality, dignity, and freedom from discrimination; additionally, India has various statutes governing the rights of women.
  As of 2018, some women have served in various senior official positions in the Indian government, including that of the President of India, the Prime Minister of India, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
context_section_description: The steady change in the position of women can be highlighted by looking at what has been achieved by women in the country:
  1848: Savitribai Phule, along with her husband Jyotirao Phule, opened a school for girls in Pune, India. Savitribai Phule became the first woman teacher in India.
  1879: John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune established the Bethune School in 1849, which developed into the Bethune College in 1879, thus becoming the first women's college in India.
  1883: Chandramukhi Basu and Kadambini Ganguly became the first female graduates of India and the British Empire.
  1886: Kadambini Ganguly and Anandi Gopal Joshi became the first women from India to be trained in Western medicine.
  1898: Sister Nivedita Girls' School was inaugurated
  1905: Suzanne RD Tata becomes the first Indian woman to drive a car.
  1916: The first women's university, SNDT Women's University, was founded on 2 June 1916 by the social reformer Dhondo Keshav Karve with just five students.
  1917: Annie Besant became the first female president of the Indian National Congress.
  1919: For her distinguished social service, Pandita Ramabai became the first Indian woman to be awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal by the British Raj.
  1925: Sarojini Naidu became the first Indian born female president of the Indian National Congress.
  1927: The All India Women's Conference was founded.
  1936: Sarla Thakral became the first Indian woman to fly an aircraft.
  1944: Asima Chatterjee became the first Indian woman to be conferred the Doctorate of Science by an Indian university.
  1947: On 15 August 1947, following independence, Sarojini Naidu became the governor of the United Provinces, and in the process became India's first woman governor. On the same day, Amrit Kaur assumed office as the first female Cabinet minister of India in the country's first cabinet.
  Post independence:Rukmini Devi Arundale was the first ever woman in Indian History to be nominated a Rajya Sabha member. She is considered the most important revivalist in the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam from its original 'sadhir' style, prevalent amongst the temple dancers, Devadasis. She also worked for the re-establishment of traditional Indian arts and crafts.
  1951: Prem Mathur of the Deccan Airways becomes the first Indian woman commercial pilot.
  1953: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit became the first woman (and first Indian) president of the United Nations General Assembly
  1959: Anna Chandy becomes the first Indian woman judge of a High Court (Kerala High Court)
  1963: Sucheta Kriplani became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the first woman to hold that position in any Indian state.
  1966: Captain Durga Banerjee becomes the first Indian woman pilot of the state airline, Indian Airlines.
  1966: Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay wins Ramon Magsaysay award for community leadership.
  1966: Indira Gandhi becomes the first woman Prime Minister of India
  1970: Kamaljit Sandhu becomes the first Indian woman to win a Gold in the Asian Games
  1972: Kiran Bedi becomes the first female recruit to join the Indian Police Service.
  1978: Sheila Sri Prakash becomes the first female entrepreneur to independently start an architecture firm
  1979: Mother Teresa wins the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first Indian female citizen to do so.
  1984: On 23 May, Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest.
  1986: Surekha Yadav became the first Asian woman loco-pilot or railway driver.
  1989: Justice M. Fathima Beevi becomes the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India.
  1991: Mumtaz M. Kazi became the first Asian woman to drive a diesel locomotive in September.
  1992: Asha Sinha becomes the First Woman Commandant in the Paramilitary forces of India when she was appointed Commandant, Central Industrial Security Force in Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited.
  1992: Priya Jhingan becomes the first lady cadet to join the Indian Army (later commissioned on 6 March 1993)
  1999: On 31 October, Sonia Gandhi became the first female Leader of the Opposition (India).
  The first Indian woman to win an Olympic Medal, Karnam Malleswari, a bronze 
caption: Sarla Thakral became the first Indian woman to fly an aircraft in 1936.
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